#wip: angsty heist project

[little-peril-stories]

nano 2023 let's gooo

Well, friends, it's that time of year again. Why I have once again decided to leap straight from Whumptober to Nanowrimo, no one knows, but here we go.

The difference from 2022 to 2023: last year, for both Whumptober and Nano, I was "playing to win" (so to speak —playing against myself, of course), while this year I wasn't/will not be. Like, if I end up writing 50,000 words this November, great!

But. I have an issue with being competitive (again, only against myself; I hate competing against others in most contexts) and I know I will get obsessive about 1667 words every day and getting every single badge, etc., etc.

So I'm just...not.

I don't have a word count goal. The goal is simply to finish the first draft of angsty heist wip. If I can, great. If not, great. I started it in April, got distracted by TQOL and life, and the poor story's been languishing around the midpoint since I put it aside. I think if I can push beyond the midpoint, I'll be all right. But even if that turns out not to be true—oh well!

I'm still going to work on TQOL, and since I've fallen into editing TPOT and have been looooooving that process, I'm going to keep doing that, too. So this Nano is really just going to be about doing the writing things I want to do and that make me happy, and if angsty heist wip gets finished as part of that journey, well, bonus.

Is this more a #CalmWriMo as coined by @winterandwords? Why, I suppose it is. Thanks for putting forth the idea and the hashtag. 😊

Anyway. Happy November, happy Nanowrimo, happy Calmwrimo, happy another day of being alive, and happy writing!

Bonus lines for anyone who made it to the bottom of this ramble lolololol.

From The Queen of Lies chapter whatever-the-hell-it-is-now-this-one-used-to-be-chapter-7:

In the faintest reaches of her heart, she allowed herself to grieve ever so little, and to wonder if she would ever see him again.

I made it to Chapter 30 in editing The Prince of Thieves, oh god oh god:

“I don’t know anything else,” she says, her voice shaking. She’s half off the floor, frozen now, breath coming in little bursts. I know, whether I live beyond today or not, I will never be able to forget this moment—her terrified gasping, her wide eyes, the way her chest rises and falls so fast it’s hard to follow. My hand tingles, fuzzy and warm in memory of how it clung to hers all night, and I am struck with how much the idea of Hatchett ending Bree Cooper’s life threatens to rip me apart from the inside.

nothing for angsty heist wip lol I'm sure those will be forthcoming throughout the month

[snowberriesromanoff]

Fic writer ask game, tagged by @bestangelofall

1. How many works on AO3?

40, counting a couple that are currently anonymous on exchanges. There's also two I orphaned (and wish I hadn't tbh)

2. Total AO3 wordcount?

Exactly 160,016

3. Most popular fics by kudos

never known peace (marvel, Kate/Yelena fluff)

motherf*cking brand (DC, Stephanie Brown centric)

keep you like a secret (marvel, dark Wandanat)

new moon (marvel, moon knight)

I kill for her (marvel, dark and sexy Kate/Yelena)

The gen moon knight fic in the middle always surprises me, but the rest I knew.

4. What fandoms do you write for?

Right now it's mostly DC, but I've written a lot of marvel and I'm also writing star wars, she-ra, october daye, leverage. I posted a miraculous ladybug fic and the naturals books fic this week. I am either entirely hyper focused on one fandom or jumping from shiny thing to shiny thing, there is no in between.

5. Do you respond to comments?

No, because I never know what to say but I do appreciate all my regulars greatly. Maybe I'll start trying to reply.

6. Angstiest ending?

I'm going to say 'inevitable greek tragedy' which is DC, Wondercheetah hurt no comfort but it's closely tied with stay (anytime you want), Stephcass post-war games;

both devil's bargain fics (dick grayson as slade's apprentice au) are unfinished so I'm not counting them but otherwise they'd be up there, I feel like a lot of my fics have fairly angsty endings and I probably need to shout out the MFB end too based on comments but I've already linked that above

7. Fic with the happiest ending?

It's never known peace (linked above), or maybe the exchange fic idk if I should link. They're both Yelena gets a happy ending fics.

Alternately maybe a little expertise, which is literally a disney frozen rom-com

8. Do you get hate?

No unless spam comments count in which case yes, I get asked to buy things in the comments an average of every two months.

9. Do you write smut?

Yes ;)

10. Do you write crossovers?

Sorta? Expertise is Frozen and Tangled together but I think those already take place in the same universe.

Cat's Paw is supposed to be a leverage/DC crossover where Selina teams up with the leverage crew but the DC chapters aren't up yet.

11. Ever had a fic stolen?

No

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No

13. Have you ever cowritten a fic?

I've done some cowriting with Bambi, who's my fiancée. She beta reads, edits, and helps with all the brainstorming so I feel like she should get a writing credit :3

14. All time favorite ship?

It's probably Catradora or Kate/Yelena, but I walked away from MFB hardcore shipping Sharper (Steph/Harper)

15. WIPs you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Increasingly, the Catwoman heist fic that won't leave my head or my notes app. there's just too many moving pieces and subplots that'll probably be recycled to other fics (also maybe some of the exchange fics I'm having a hard time with rn)

16. Writing strengths?

I write freakishly fast. I can usually write between 2-4k a day and I do that most days. Also, kiss scenes

17. Writing weaknesses?

I try to take on too many projects and too large of projects at once. And I struggle with endings - Bambi usually has to tell me if an ending works or not.

18. Thoughts on mixed language dialogue?

It can be a good characterization shorthand, I usually have the narrator understand and translate after.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Unpublished star wars fic in my teens, then october daye in 2021

20. Favorite fic you've ever written?

MOTHERF*CKING BRAND!!! Seriously, writing that entire 64k fic over the course of the past three months kept me sane in so many ways. I love it, I love everyone who commented, I loved making the playlist, I promise the sequel is in the works :3

If you see this and want to, consider yourself tagged :)

[hipsterpotomu5]

WIP Folder

Rules: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them and then post a little snippet of it or tell them something about it! And then tag as many people as you have wips.  I have deemed that this isn’t just for writing either. Sketch titles? Comics? Dnd campaigns? If you have an unfinished project, it counts!!

jesus christ ok so @acewizard tagged me in this WIP thing boy hey Ren do you love the color of the sky? well here we go i guess and im even so nice im labeling them

Apex Legends Strange Addiction au where they’re all professional wrestlers??

Assassins Creed plot ideas :3 Eivor and Kass

Untitled document (space themed ttrpg campaign)

Critical Role Beau and Molly go wine shopping beau and yasha fight molly and yasha werewolf keyleth and monster hunter vex

Cyberpunk 2077 V preps to leave with aldecaldos V makes a concert scroll for Judy V develops cyberpsychosis

dnd campaigns ancient being oneshot big city Cosmic Collapse deep sea stuff Dragon Heist Escort short campaign goofy shit Gwynnyth Pirates Planescape Rod of Seven Parts Star Spawn oneshot the disco elysium inspired world Uprising

HFY Crash Landing Dropping the Bombs haha depression but in space Homesick The Goddamned Power Button watching the waves break

Horizon Zero Dawn idea HZD Where the Wild Things Are

Little Witch Academy what if Chariot didnt forgive Croix right away and it was super angsty for absolutley no reason

My original ideas Hedge and Wick pirate captain story idea overall story ideaaaaa Totally evil idea (not evil at all >:( stop lying, past me) untitled document vampire story idea Healing Running ffrom guards G and T1 G and T G and T idea The Birds

Overwatch god help  me trying to type all these out. why am i doing this to myself. ren why have you inflicted this on me pharah and mercy bonnie and clyde something about healing Sundaes/sundays the one where reaper saves pharah Within these walls zombie shit And Yes, We Can Keep Living Like This I Learned To Lie Dying to Live angsty pharmercy Sin on a Silver Platter untitled document (Couldnt) put me back Together Again Heart’s A Mess Safeties Off You Liar See the World pokemon au Shipwreck deserted island au there were like, honest to go 50 more docs that each had like a 1 sentence idea in them, jesus, i cant list them all i cant do it im moving on

Pokemon ______ region (at the beginnning of the year i got hyperfixated on making a pokemon romhack with my own custom region. yea that didnt go anywhere lol) The Last of Us college au Where the Light Is

good god, thats all of it. that doesnt count the at least 75-100 one sentence docs i have in there, and it doesnt count my “ideas” docs for some like overwatch and my non fandom writing, which probably combined have over 100 more ideas/paragraphs/chapters anyway. im not tagging anyone but if u follow me and you want to bare your soul to the world, feel free lol

[amillionmillionvoices]

1, 3, 4, 18, 20!

1. Tell us about your current project(s)  – what’s it about, how’s progress, what do you love most about it?

So I mentioned before the 5x fic, but ALSO my brain is grappling with starting another long, River-centric fic that basically steals a bunch of shit from Warehouse 13 and turns it into a angsty beast of a fic where River is fucking with time and 12 is trying to talk her out of it and it’s not going well for anyone involved lol. 

I also started a River-centric Enchanted- AU that is massively slow going but basically River flees Kovarian in the magical realm and pops up in London in modern day and meets Bill and then 12 and it’s frustrating because obviously River is much more worldly than Giselle so that’s gotta be tweaked but my desire to see River do magic and be bffs with Bill will not be sated so 

3. What is that one scene that you’ve always wanted to write but can’t be arsed to write all of the set-up and context it would need? (consider this permission to write it and/or share it anyway)

Oooh man I have a lot of these and usually they end up in my WIP folder and never see the light of day but I guess the one I made the most progress on and then never finished was the Time Heist AU where 12 finds River in the vault, not the alien, and basically loses his shit. But I could never cobble together enough of a plot as to WHY she’d be in the vault, so it never went anywhere. :/ 

4. Share a sentence or paragraph from your writing that you’re really proud of (explain why, if you like)

I’m honestly so bad at picking out paragraphs or sentences of fic. Like poetry, sure! But I never feel like my writing is that beautiful or poetic in fic and that I’m constantly just stringing words together trying to get two idiots to make out

18. Do any of your stories have alternative versions? (plotlines that you abandoned, AUs of your own work, different characterisations?) Tell us about them.

Ooo ummmmmm good question lol. I almost always have a “cut parts” document that I put in little bits of pieces of fics that didn’t jive - often dialogue or smaller scenes - but i tend more to edit as I go so I don’t wind up with huge swaths of fic that went down a different path?  

20. Tell us the meta about your writing that you really want to ramble to people about (symbolism you’ve included, character or relationship development that you love, hidden references, callbacks or clues for future scenes?)

i am the distance you put between all the moments that we will be is basically a million tiny foreshadows in a trench coat masquerading as a fic —like the new receptionist/River’s different rules prefacing that she’s post Library; River having changed her chair because of her injury, River wincing in places or leaning on one side, also referencing her injury; River saying she’ll meet the doctor in an hour, but shows up wearing her vortex manipulator, implying that she’s done all the things she’ll have done later in the fic with “Manton”; “She just killed a man” --> later killing “Manton”; and then most things about the heist being so easy try to imply that something hinky is going on. Who knows how well any of it worked, but I tried! lol 

[ ask me a writing question! ]

[eremji]

July - WIP Post

Total unpublished WC as of posting: 87,373 Fics posted this month: 0 If you’re in the closed beta, find this post on Pillowfort

Title: On the Ropes Fandom/Pairing: Marvel Cinematic Universe - Steve Rogers/James "Bucky" Barnes Word Count: 18,874 (+12,896) [EDITING] Notes: This one is nearly done and I’m super excited to release it into the wild, mostly because this is the third version of this story (and it’s much better for it). I have maybe 2-3 days of editing and prep left before I upload. I spent the bulk of my time last month on this one.

Title: Hypnagogia Fandom/Pairing: Inception - Arthur/Eames Word Count: 21,855 (+1,813) [WIP] Notes: This one didn’t grow very much last month, but it did get a completed outline of all the scenes, events, and plots/subplots – some of it was giving me trouble trying to nail it down. All that’s left to do here is expanding my notes.

Title: Parallax Fandom/Pairing: Marvel Cinematic Universe - Steve Rogers/James "Bucky" Barnes Word Count: 6,539 (+529) [WIP] Notes: I don’t anticipate big movement on this any time soon. There’s not a full plot sketch, just an idea and some tropes; the word count mostly comes from angsty, atmospheric moodiness and an action scene I treasure.

Title: Lessons Fandom/Pairing: Star Trek (AOS) - Jim Kirk/Spock Word Count: 16,370 (+406) [WIP] Notes: Not much movement this month either. It needs some edits before I continue, and I haven’t had time to print it off and mark it up.

Title: Kansas City Shuffle Fandom/Pairing: Marvel Cinematic Universe - Loki/Tony Stark Word Count: 13,144 (+18) [WIP] Notes: I did some editing on this one and added a bunch of notes. On temporary hold until I can watch Infinity War again and ramp back up into it. This one is going to be a lot of fun, and probably pretty painful, because I’ve never written a heist before.

Title: Untitled Reverse!Verse AU (Captain America!Bucky, Winter Soldier!Steve) Fandom/Pairing: Marvel Cinematic Universe - Steve Rogers/James "Bucky" Barnes Word Count: 1,083 (+1,083) [Outlining] Notes: I wrote a fake 1940s NYT article and part of an opening scene for this one to use for tonal reference. I’m going to enjoy getting into this project when it comes up on my schedule.

Planned Shorts/PWPs: Steve Rogers/James "Bucky" Barnes: Captain America identity porn. Bruce Banner/Thor: Me, to my friend D: “This would basically be the Avengers version of Katy Perry’s Last Friday Night except Bruce wakes up next to Thor naked in bed.” D: “Do it. I guarantee you get at least a dozen comments saying it’s the greatest thing ever.” Me: “Or the worst. Either way, it’s going on the list.”

[little-peril-stories]

Romantic Snippets Tag

I was tagged by @starlit-hopes-and-dreams (in this post here). Thanks for the tag!

Tagging: OPEN TAG

Pulling from angsty heist wip today :)

When I run my fingers against his face, brushing a few wayward strands of hair away from his eyes, he doesn’t stir. I love him all the time, but I especially love him in moments like this, when I can see the peace in his features and count his gentle, even breaths. Sometimes I wonder what he’s dreaming of when he looks like this—so serene, so undisturbed. Some lovely dreams they must be.

[little-peril-stories]

Find the Word Tag

I was tagged by @sam-glade (in this post here)

My words are: sleep, wake, eat, play

OPEN TAG

Your words are: brow, brilliant, braid, brisk

These are all from angsty heist wip.

Sleep

He always looks tired, but he’s been looking significantly worse the last few days—there are circles under his eyes so dark they’re almost black. I wouldn’t be surprised to find out he hasn’t been sleeping or that his hair is falling out in chunks.

Wake

New warmth slides silkily through the window, different from the coziness of skin and blankets that envelopes me as I blink into wakefulness—the warmth of a new day.

Eat

“I wasn’t expecting anything,” I say, twisting from my secluded spot on the lakeshore. The sun gleams off the wisps of hair that peek out from beneath her hat. “How’d you even know I was here?”

“I didn’t,” she says slyly. “If you weren’t here, I was going to eat them both.”

Play

“What?” He looks helplessly around, terribly confused, it seems, at my reaction. “I don’t understand. Every day, it’s something. Are you playing me? Is this a ploy? Or should I call a doctor?”

[little-peril-stories]

Nanowrimo 2023, day 11

ohhhh today was a Big Procrastination Day lolllll. I spent too long making a new mood board for The Prince of Thieves. yes, TPOT. Not angsty heist wip. 😂 (I mean, the angsty heist wip mood board has literally been made since, like, April.)

Today's progress looks pretty impressive but part of it is definitely the fact that I copied the rest of my outline into the doc. tee hee.

Also, I was having a hard time deciding what to do next since I finished Chapter...uh... (*checks doc*)... 20, apparently (I have absolutely no idea about the chapter numbers for this wip, lol). So I jumped to the end! muahaha. I'm not usually a jump-around kind of writer but it's Nano baby. no rules.

She’s bathed in candlelight, as lovely as the day I met her, shadowy dimness just as flattering upon her face as gilded sunlight.

Today, I am grateful for weekends, cloudy days, and my hubby's love and support. 💕

[little-peril-stories]

Mid-November Update (Nano 2023, day 15)

angsty heist wip

How it's going: Since I skipped to the end :), I got to paint the final image today, and it had me grinning at my phone on the subway. I love that feeling. 💕

as for words: I wrote nothing yesterday! Zip! In fact, if we were counting word by word, I had negative words yesterday bc all I had the energy and time for was to read over it a little bit and I deleted some, lol.

Today I've written about...300? Whatevs. It's a wild, wild, wild week. But tomorrow is my last crazy day, thank GOODNESS. 😴

The Queen of Lies - editing and posting

How it's going: Well, the next chapter is done, so that's cool. Here's the teaser, since it didn't go at the end of the last chapter.

I want to do a thiefcam chapter next, and it is not even a little bit written, so we'll see what happens. And WHEN it happens. :)

The Prince of Thieves - editing

How it's going: 32-ish chapters edited (of 52, originally, though that number of chapters might will be different by the end), with a goal to rework the beginning after Nano is done. (I am SO excited for this!)

[little-peril-stories]

Nanowrimo 2023, day 3

Well, I continued the chapter I started yesterday, but it was a long and busy day for me, after an also long and busy day yesterday. I'm not even at 1000 words for today, and that's OK. Like I mentioned, this chapter contains some pretty heavy stuff, so I'm willing to give myself time and space to do it sensitively.

Today, we are grateful for good friends. 💕

“What if I said I had a front-row seat while Regent took a red-hot poker to his arm so he’d remember how to be an obedient little mutt next time?

[little-peril-stories]

Nanowrimo 2023, day 13

Who's sleepy today? This gal.

“You know,” he says, tugging at his beard, whatever emotions that overcame him a few minutes ago seeming to have subsided, “it stings a little that he’s the favourite. But at least I’ll get to sleep tonight.”

Today, I am grateful for warm coats and free seats on the subway!

[little-peril-stories]

Nanowrimo 2023, days 7, 8, & 9

Tuesday, November 7: 11275 words

“You’ve done a real fucking great job so far.”

Wednesday, November 8: 12929 words

Okay, I’d start. Cotton so soft you could confuse it for silk. Flower petals and butterfly wings. Sugar and cinnamon, all mixed together. Turning pages and soft sighs. Ice all over the trees that turns the entire world to diamond.

Thursday, November 9: 15068 words

“You manage to get yourself into the most troublesome situations, don’t you?”

Some things I was grateful for the last few days: deep breaths, winds that sweep up leaves like autumn-orange tornadoes, rain and hail stopping just in time for the walk to the subway, herbal tea, and quiet mornings.

[little-peril-stories]

Nanowrimo 2023, day 5

Okay, so it looks like there's been a huge jump in words, but I actually just set up the rest of my doc with outline stuff/notes, chapter headings, etc, so some of those words aren't "words," if you know what I mean. But they'll get deleted eventually and the WC will even out by the end.

Today, I am grateful for blue skies, crisp air, and fall colours. 🍂🍁

Do you want to know the truth about happy endings, darling?

[little-peril-stories]

Nanowrimo, day 4

The scary chapter is done. It wasn't exactly new territory for me, but it contained one of the most difficult scenes I've written. I was kind of relieved to get past it.

Hubby: If you're uncomfortable, why are you writing it?

Me: BECAUSE IT'S JUST WHAT HAPPENS, OKAY? Also it's good to challenge myself sometimes.

Today, we are grateful for weekends and for quiet spaces.

One word, roared in the voice of every person who has ever cared about me in my entire miserable life, sticks in my brain: Run.

[little-peril-stories]

Happy STS, Kate!

Half my dash is doing some variant of Nano right now. What do you hope to achieve this month? What are you most excited for?

Hi, Elli, thanks for the ask! Happy STS!

I also talked about my November goals here. 💕

Here's what I hope to achieve:

Main Nano goal: finish angsty heist wip. I'm tracking my word count for this project, but not forcing myself to get to 1667 words per day.

Secondary goal #1: continue editing TPOT. I'm still in Chapter 30, moving particularly slowly through this one. After all, it's a key moment in the narrative. 😭 I don't think I'll get through all the chapters this month, and I'm totally fine with that.

Secondary goal #2: continue editing and posting The Queen of Lies. I've now reached a few chapters where there are some rewrites needed — once I started adding thiefcam chapters, teeny little changes started to build up and now I've got to reckon with them. 😂 But it's all fun stuff, and the changes are kind of making it less angsty, which I think is a good thing overall.

In the spirit of keeping things fun and light, I've also started a "just-for-fun" story in my notebook, on paper only, that I'm writing for pure joy. When I just can't with angsty heist wip, TPOT, or TQOL, but I feel like writing — or if I can't look at a computer screen any longer — I'll have that waiting for me. But there are no goals whatsoever for that one. There's not even an outline. Kate is trying out that pantser life, babbbbyyyyy.

I'm most excited for....hmm. Probably getting to this one stupid joke that's supposed to go in the finale of angsty heist wip. But also just finishing the damn book. Will I get there this November? idk. Maybe. Time will tell. 🕰️

Thanks for the fun question!!

[little-peril-stories]

So, should I post the angsty heist wip reveal or resolve the TQOL cliffhanger tomorrow? I’m torn.